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| Birmingham fake money: Four jailed for £1.3m counterfeit scam | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Four men have been jailed for making more than £1.3m worth of counterfeit £10 notes. | Four men have been jailed for making more than £1.3m worth of counterfeit £10 notes. |
| Brothers Amrit and Prem Karra were each sentenced to seven years for using their printing business in Hockley, Birmingham, to produce the forgeries. | |
| Rajiv Kumar and Yash Mahey were jailed for four years at Birmingham Crown Court for counterfeiting money between September 2011 and February 2012. | Rajiv Kumar and Yash Mahey were jailed for four years at Birmingham Crown Court for counterfeiting money between September 2011 and February 2012. |
| The court was told £1.27m worth of fake notes had been recovered by police. | The court was told £1.27m worth of fake notes had been recovered by police. |
| All four were found guilty of conspiring to counterfeit a currency note with the intention they or another would pass or tender it as genuine. | All four were found guilty of conspiring to counterfeit a currency note with the intention they or another would pass or tender it as genuine. |
| Prem Karra, 43, from Brookhouse Road, Walsall, ran Karra Design and Print on Summer Lane with his brother Amrit Paul Karra, 45, of Broadway North, Walsall. | Prem Karra, 43, from Brookhouse Road, Walsall, ran Karra Design and Print on Summer Lane with his brother Amrit Paul Karra, 45, of Broadway North, Walsall. |
| The court heard along with Rajiv Kumar, 40, of Clarkes Lane, West Bromwich, and Yash Paul Mahey, 46, from Granbrook Road, Handsworth, they used computers and machinery to make "high-quality counterfeit notes". | |
| The men worked throughout the night to "avoid detection", the court was told. | The men worked throughout the night to "avoid detection", the court was told. |
| The forgeries were found at businesses as far away as Kent and south Wales, during an investigation by the National Crime Agency. | |
| It said the fakes, some of which had their own unique serial numbers, were still being discovered by banks and retailers. | It said the fakes, some of which had their own unique serial numbers, were still being discovered by banks and retailers. |
| 'Professional forgers' | 'Professional forgers' |
| The court was told the printing company was in financial trouble and the brothers had turned to counterfeiting to save it. | The court was told the printing company was in financial trouble and the brothers had turned to counterfeiting to save it. |
| David Emanuel, defending Prem Karra, said: "The temptation of a cash injection of a job like this was too much. | David Emanuel, defending Prem Karra, said: "The temptation of a cash injection of a job like this was too much. |
| "It was a very misguided attempt to save the business with a short-term cash injection." | "It was a very misguided attempt to save the business with a short-term cash injection." |
| Quentin Hunt, defending Rajiv Kumar, told the court others had been involved in the fraud. | Quentin Hunt, defending Rajiv Kumar, told the court others had been involved in the fraud. |
| "These four conspirators, you may infer, were by no means the only persons involved in the distribution and production of these counterfeit notes," he said. | "These four conspirators, you may infer, were by no means the only persons involved in the distribution and production of these counterfeit notes," he said. |
| Judge Richard Bond said the fact that some of the £10 notes were still in circulation showed how "sophisticated" the operation had been. | Judge Richard Bond said the fact that some of the £10 notes were still in circulation showed how "sophisticated" the operation had been. |
| "If the notes were passed as part of ordinary day-to-day financial transactions they would go unnoticed unless someone examined them," he said. | "If the notes were passed as part of ordinary day-to-day financial transactions they would go unnoticed unless someone examined them," he said. |
| In sentencing, he told the men: "You were all professional forgers with carefully prepared plates and machinery. | In sentencing, he told the men: "You were all professional forgers with carefully prepared plates and machinery. |
| "The reason for your offending is quite simply greed. You were trying to make a large sum of money." | "The reason for your offending is quite simply greed. You were trying to make a large sum of money." |
| 'Found and punished' | |
| The judge banned the Karra brothers from holding a company directorship for eight years. | |
| The owner of a neighbouring business, who did not wish to be named, said the Karra brothers had seemed like "normal businessmen". | |
| He said: "They kept themselves to themselves mainly. | |
| "I would say 'hello' to them and there was never any trouble, but that was about it. | |
| "It was a shock when we found out what had happened. | |
| "Normally you expect people involved in that sort of thing to be flamboyant, but they weren't like that." | |
| Richard Warner, National Crime Agency Birmingham Branch commander, said: "These men ran a sophisticated operation that posed a significant threat to the UK economy at the time. | |
| "By working closely with industry experts our officers stopped them causing more damage." | |
| A Bank of England spokesperson said: "The bank works closely with the National Crime Agency in the fight against counterfeiting. We are grateful for their work in pursuing this case to a successful conclusion. | |
| "Those individuals who engage in counterfeiting should know they will be found and punished for their crimes." |